Help Us Build a Safe Space for Healing, Learning & Hope

We’re Ian and Grace, a couple living simply on a small piece of land on a beautiful but vulnerable island often described as "the last shade of paradise" in the Philippines. Our home sits on the fringes of the Philippine Sea, a place of stunning natural beauty, but one increasingly at risk. Due to its location, the island is easily accessible by foreign vessels and in recent years has quietly become a gateway for drug activity, human trafficking, and exploitation.

While tourism has brought opportunity, it has also contributed to widening inequalities and increased vulnerabilities especially for children and families living in isolated, impoverished areas. With limited access to education, protection, and support, many are left unprotected in the face of serious risks.

What We Witnessed Changed Everything

When we first began, we would travel by scooter each week to a village about an hour away. There, we offered children a safe space to play, enjoy music and art, learn life values, and receive a healthy snack.

But what we discovered over time was sobering.

Most of the children we worked with were affected by malnutrition, emotional trauma, and family instability. A shocking number were living in homes marked by domestic violence, abuse, and neglect. Some were barely eating one full meal a day. Others confided stories no child should have to carry.

Back in North America, we would read or hear about stories like these but we didn’t fully grasp how real or serious they were. Now that we’re here, it’s no longer just stories. These are real children we know by name. We’ve laughed with them, taught them, sat beside them, and now we carry their pain with us. Seeing their struggles firsthand, and knowing the deep trauma they face, has touched us in ways we never expected. This experience has changed us forever.

There have been safety concerns around us that became hard to ignore, not just for the children, but for us as well. So we felt a deep urgency to find a safer, more sustainable way to continue this mission. Faced with limited transportation and safety concerns, we made the decision to turn our own home into a base of operations.

In the middle of the growing darkness on this island, we’ve chosen to shine the light for the children and their families by building something different: a safe space where healing and hope can grow. It may sound dramatic, but sometimes even we can’t believe the things we’ve been through. All we can do is thank God for watching over us and continuing to protect us.

Why We’re Asking for Your Support

We began our construction while continuing to serve the children, and balance work. In July 2024, our work was unexpectedly delayed due to a family emergency. Grace returned to Canada to care for her mother, who was hospitalized and later entered palliative care. Grace remained by her side through her final weeks until her passing.

The emotional and financial toll of that loss was heavy. We had to pause our programs and lost the opportunity to build support and income during the peak tourism season.

Even during this time, we stayed connected to the children and families offering help in urgent situations and nurturing relationships.

Since Grace returned in February 2025, we’ve taken time to rest, grieve, and slowly rebuild. The journey is ongoing, but we’ve resumed construction and are preparing to open our space to the children and families we’ve walked alongside.

We’ve wrestled with discouragement. We’ve questioned whether to stop. But the faces and lives of those we serve remind us that this is no ordinary mission. This is life-giving work.

We’ve watched children once filled with anger become playful, compassionate helpers in the community.

We’ve seen mothers battling addiction come sit with us and listen to stories about Jesus and His transformative love.

These are glimpses of hope and reminders that this mission matters.

We’ve seen hope show up in unexpected places.

What We’re Building Together

We’re continuing to transform our land into a safe learning and healing space for children and families. Around our home, we are currently constructing:

Our dream is to serve the community with garden-to-table meals, while also providing safety, skills, and spiritual support to the most vulnerable.

The Roadside Kitchen: A Place of Nourishment and New Beginnings

This isn’t just a kitchen, it’s a key piece of our mission. Once completed, it will serve as:

By equipping local families with skills and opportunity, we’re helping restore dignity, stability, and long-term hope in our community.

A sneak peek at the ongoing construction of our roadside kitchen! We’re excited for the day it opens to serve the community with fresh, garden-to-table meals. In time, we also hope this kitchen becomes a sustainable source of income to support our mission and outreach.

The Organic Garden: A Source of Food and Healing

Our organic garden is more than a food source, it’s a classroom, a sanctuary, and part of our healing.

Through it, we plan to offer:

In a world where many are disconnected from healthy food, we want to show what’s possible with just a small patch of land and a lot of love.

Our Programs

Once our space is fully open, we plan to resume offering:

Why We Need a Vehicle

We currently rely on a single scooter, and transporting our materials and equipment for our programs can be dangerous and extremely limiting given the rough terrain in some areas.

After careful research, we’ve identified the brand new ISUZU Travis, a compact utility vehicle, as the most practical and reliable choice. Secondhand vehicles are risky here due to frequent flood damage, unreliable maintenance, and no warranty.

A vehicle will allow us to:

Here’s a recent photo of Ian and Grace (Grace would be where the striped bag is - holding it, if she weren’t behind the camera!) on their way to deliver donated clothing and supplies to a village community.

Hope Is Still Alive With Your Help

Even though we can’t reach everyone yet, we’re doing all we can with what we have.

We believe this is where Jesus has placed us: among the vulnerable, showing up each day with love, humility, and hope.

There were moments we questioned if we could keep going with this mission. The grief, isolation, and lack of resources nearly overwhelmed us. But then we remember the children and parents whose lives have changed for the better, and the positive results of the work we've been doing.

They remind us why we began and why we can’t stop.

We’ve seen the quiet, steady power of faith, presence, and simply showing up. But we’ve reached the edge of what we can do alone.

With your help, your gift whether one-time or monthly, it would help us keep going to serve, and could mean safety for a child, a second chance for a teen, dignity for a struggling parent.

Thank you for believing and standing by us.

Your generosity builds more than structures. It helps build something rooted in love and hope, that will outlast us all.

With all our hearts,

Ian & Grace

P.S.

If you'd like to follow our journey, visit us at www.paradiyos.com.

Our site is under renovation, but updates are coming soon!